Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dia memilih jurusan psikologi di fakultas sosial pada semester pertama. - She chose a psychology major in the social faculty in the first semester.

Dia is a third-person singular pronoun meaning “he” or “she” (and sometimes “they” in a gender‑neutral sense). Indonesian pronouns are not gendered, so dia does not tell you whether the person is male or female.

Spoken variants:

dia – neutral, common in speech and writing
ia – a bit more formal/literary, usually not used at the very start of a sentence
beliau – respectful form for elders or people of higher status

In this sentence, dia is just “that person / he / she” with no extra nuance.

What is the role of “memilih”, and how is it different from “pilih”?

The base verb is pilih (to choose). Memilih is the active transitive form built with the prefix meN-, which is very common in Indonesian.

pilih – bare root; used in commands or short phrases
- Pilih satu! = Choose one!
memilih – “to choose / to select (something)” as a regular verb in a sentence
- Dia memilih jurusan psikologi. = He/She chose the psychology major.

So in a full sentence with an explicit subject and object, memilih is the normal, grammatically complete form.

What exactly does “jurusan” mean, and how is it different from “mata kuliah” or “pelajaran”?

Jurusan means “major / department / field of study” at a college or university.

jurusan psikologi = psychology major / the Psychology department
mata kuliah = a course / subject at university
- mata kuliah psikologi sosial = Social Psychology (course)
pelajaran = “lesson / school subject,” often for school (not university)
- pelajaran matematika = math (as a subject in school)

So in this sentence, memilih jurusan psikologi means “chose (the) psychology major,” not just a single class.

Why is the order “jurusan psikologi” and not “psikologi jurusan”?

In Indonesian, the typical pattern is head noun + modifier, not the other way around like in English:

jurusan (head noun: major) + psikologi (modifier: psychology)
→ jurusan psikologi = psychology major

Other examples:

buku sejarah = history book
fakultas sosial = social faculty / faculty of social (sciences)

So “psikologi jurusan” would be incorrect; you keep jurusan first because it’s the thing being specified.

What does “di fakultas sosial” mean, and why do we use “di” here?

Di is the standard preposition for location: “in, at, on” depending on context.

di fakultas sosial = “in/at the social faculty”

At real universities you’ll more often see a fuller name like:

Fakultas Ilmu Sosial (Faculty of Social Sciences)
Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik (FISIP)

But grammatically, di + place is correct:

di rumah = at home
di kampus = on campus
di fakultas sosial = at/in the Faculty of Social (Sciences)

What is the function of “pada” in “pada semester pertama”? Could you say “di semester pertama” or just “semester pertama”?

Pada is a preposition often used with time expressions, roughly “at / in / on (time)”.

pada semester pertama = in the first semester
pada tahun pertama = in the first year
pada hari Senin = on Monday

Alternatives:

di semester pertama – common in speech and informal writing; many speakers use di instead of pada with time.
semester pertama (no preposition) – also possible in many contexts:
- Dia memilih jurusan psikologi semester pertama.
  → He/She chose the psychology major (in) the first semester.

Pada sounds a bit more formal/neutral and is very safe in writing.

Does this sentence indicate past, present, or future? There’s no tense marker like “did / will”.

Indonesian does not mark tense grammatically the way English does. The verb memilih itself doesn’t change for past, present, or future. The time is understood from context or from added time words.

This sentence could be interpreted as:

He/She chose a psychology major … (past)
He/She is choosing a psychology major … (current decision)
He/She will choose a psychology major … (planned future)

To be explicit, speakers often add markers:

sudah memilih = has (already) chosen
akan memilih = will choose
baru saja memilih = has just chosen

Without those, it’s context‑dependent.

Is the position of the time phrase “pada semester pertama” fixed, or can it move?

It’s flexible. Common positions:

Dia memilih jurusan psikologi di fakultas sosial pada semester pertama.
Pada semester pertama, dia memilih jurusan psikologi di fakultas sosial.
Dia pada semester pertama memilih jurusan psikologi di fakultas sosial. (more written/formal, less common in speech)

All are grammatical. Indonesian often allows time expressions at the beginning or end of the sentence; end position (example 1) is very natural in spoken Indonesian.

Could you say “Dia mengambil jurusan psikologi” instead of “Dia memilih jurusan psikologi”? Is there a difference?

Yes, Dia mengambil jurusan psikologi is very natural and commonly used.

Nuance:

memilih jurusan psikologi – focuses on the act of choosing/deciding on that major
mengambil jurusan psikologi – focuses more on taking/enrolling in that major as your program of study

In many everyday contexts, they sound almost interchangeable:

Dia akhirnya memilih / mengambil jurusan psikologi.
→ He/She finally went with psychology as a major.

Why is there no article like “a / the” before “jurusan psikologi” or “fakultas sosial”?

Indonesian has no articles like a, an, the. Nouns can be definite or indefinite depending on context, not on a separate word.

jurusan psikologi can mean “a psychology major” or “the psychology major”
fakultas sosial can mean “a social faculty” or “the Faculty of Social Sciences”

If you need to be very specific, you use context or add extra words (e.g. itu = that):

jurusan psikologi itu = that psychology major / the psychology major (already known to both speakers)

Is the sentence formal, informal, or neutral? Could it be made more casual?

As written, it’s neutral, suitable for both spoken and written Indonesian.

More casual, spoken variants might use:

dropping the prefix in fast speech: Dia milih jurusan psikologi…
shorter place/time phrases if already understood:
- Dia milih psikologi semester pertama.

Very formal/written style might say:

Ia memilih jurusan Psikologi pada Fakultas Ilmu Sosial pada semester pertama.

So the original sentence sits comfortably in the middle: correct, natural, and neutral.